Stargate: Dark Frontier 2x03 Verve Part 2
by Lone-ranger1
Summary: With Daedalus and Atlantis reunited, the time for change has arrived. The last remnant of Pegasus will have to unite if they want to survive in this harsh galaxy. From the ashes of Pegasus, a new city will rise.
1. Chapter 1

**Stargate: Dark Frontier**

**Season 2 **

**Episode 3.5– Verve Part 2  
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---------- 308 days in Hoag's Object ----------

---------- 6 days AOI (After Olim Invasion) ----------

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For information on Season 1, go to

http(COLON)//sg-darkfrontier(DOT)wikia(DOT)com/wiki/Stargate(COLON)_Dark_Frontier_Wiki

**Previously on Dark Frontier:** _Reunited, the remnant of Pegasus must now unite as one if they want to survive. This galaxy has been harsh, and they find that they can only trust each other._

_Everyone faces their actions and decisions. Some are easier than others, but nothing stays the same. Change is here, and they'll have to adapt or die._

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**Radek Zelenka:** "Colonel Carter…"

**Samantha Carter:** "Call me Sam, Radek… "

**Radek Zelenka:** "Sam… it's a lovely name."

**John Sheppard:** "Uhh… what exactly did Carson give you?"

**Radek Zelenka:** "It's not the medicine, Sheppard. I… I feel right again."

* * *

The creature Ronon now saw resembled a spider in many ways, but was much more muscular and leathery than the spiders Ronon knew. Its head was roughly the same as a dog's; a pointed skull with a split jaw that snapped open and shut. The dull purplish blue of its skin was hidden by fur or a thick hide of hair. It was one of the strangest things he'd seen in a long time.

It was dark in this cave, but the rock gave an odd eerie glow. It was just enough for Ronon to be able to adjust and make out the specifics. Carson had explained that Ronon's eyes had adjusted over time to dark conditions and had more sensitive rods or something. Ronon hardly ever paid attention when it was something that he didn't truly need to know.

Alana was alive, but she was trapped in a strange cocoon. Ronon was starkly reminded of Pegasus as he looked in towards the nest of these creatures.

He'd been quiet as he snuck in. These creatures hadn't heard him. Given their biology from what Ronon could see, he wasn't surprised.

They were roughly about 2 meters long, with six appendages that resembled arms that had fingers on the end that could easily grip onto branches. Ronon studied the creature intently, observing it's movements around the nest.

But there was a family of them, the largest of which had drawn Ronon's attention. Taking careful aim, Ronon prayed these creatures weren't resistant to the energy weapon, something that had annoyed him to no end about the animals in this ancestral forsaken galaxy.

* * *

John wasn't surprised that it took him awhile to find Sam, she'd certainly gone somewhere secluded, but surprisingly, it wasn't the dark private place he'd imagined she'd go to.

Sam was sitting on a bench in one of the more secluded gardens the Travelers had set up. A few random assortments of plants from Pegasus, Saudade, and even transplanted from other planets in Hoag's Object made a remarkably beautiful place. John knew another of the reasons Sam had come here, she could see the destroyed pair of towers next to the pier; he was reminded of something he'd told her when she first arrived to Atlantis, how everything they fixed made the city a little more theirs and less about the Lanteans.

It'd been almost fourteen hours since landing now. The meeting was scheduled to start soon and John had wanted to talk to Sam first. Looking out towards the sky, John found the red sky to be oddly beautiful, though the air was a bit cold and dry. In the distance, not too far from the city itself, he could see a thin band of green trees and plant life, the stretch beyond and to the horizon red and barren.

Sitting down next to her, it wasn't hard for John to see that she was dejected and downright depressed. He would have never seen it before, but spending so much time with her had given him an insight into her ways, something only Daniel could have seen from those who were left.

Neither of them said anything, but John quietly and gently put an arm around Sam. He wasn't too surprised when she wormed out and quietly said. "A hug isn't going to solve anything, John."

Having expected this, John replied equally quietly, "I know. But it helps."

Having to smile, even if only ruefully, Sam sighed as she accepted the hug. Her mind was going a mile a minute, going over everything that had happened in the last week. She'd already told John was she was thinking of doing, but neither one of them openly talked about it with others around. "How could you just sit there, John? I thought you said you'd stop me when I got too stubborn." She'd asked it very coldly, forcing her emotions down.

John simply sighed. "Remember when you came to Atlantis… and I said I didn't envy you? I wasn't kidding." He waited a second for effect, then added. "I still don't. But I think you made the right call. I don't like what happened, but I'm not going to hold it against you."

Sam drew in a breath through her nose, then asked. "So you're just supporting me out of loyalty? I don't want a yesman, John, that's not what…" She stopped, they'd never truly defined their relationship before, so Sam stuck to the professional side. "…that's not what an _Executive Officer_ is supposed to do." What was John? Was he her _boyfriend?_ The term sounded so juvenile. Was he her _lover?_ That sounded just as harlequin and that was by _far _not what their relationship was based on.

Squeezing her a little, John said. "And undermining you would have helped? I didn't have to say anything, you knew. And that was enough."

A long moment passed, and Sam used her opposite hand from where John hugged her shoulders to cup his hand. She squeezed it and felt reassured at his squeezing back. "Do we fight? Do we run? Do we hide? It's just not hard anymore… it's impossible. I can't fight effectively when I've got to take care of six thousand people. "

Momentarily confused with her wording, John decided to get to the heart of the matter. "I don't think it's impossible… but you're right. We need something better, and no matter what you decide, I'll support you, Samantha."

Giving a snorting laugh akin to a squirrel, Sam replied almost incredulously. _"Samantha?_ Nobody _ever_ calls me that. Not even my own _dad_ called me that."

Feeling the great need to show Sam exactly what his support meant, John quietly and calmly explained himself. "It's what you are to _me_."

Surprised at how calm he was, Sam turned and asked equally calmly. "What?"

Clearing his throat, John laid it out plainly. "Sam's my CO. Samantha... well..." His arm pulled her in tighter, now extending it to a full hug. John could only imagine how Sam must have felt with the responsibility of the city and everything that had happened on her shoulders. He'd often compared what Weir had been through, but Elizabeth didn't have the pain of an entire galaxy on her shoulders. He'd never wanted that, and he knew nobody else really wanted that level of responsibility either. John had seen the woman he'd gotten to know in Pegasus over the past few days, a woman willing to make hard decisions for the good of everyone, even if it meant pain for her.

Sam sniffled once, her eyes glistening slightly as she thought about the emotional subject. "_I guess I can't be both, huh?"_

Reminded of what Larrin had said when Sam was in stasis, John sighed and wrapped an arm around her head as he pulled her into an embrace and whispered. "Yeah you can, I just need to know the difference." Sam didn't respond to that, but she was hugging him back now. The dark leather of their uniforms felt so impersonal, but the heat from their necks touching was more than enough. "Look... no matter what you decide..."

Pulling away from John, Sam nodded softly and wiped her eyes. She'd not shed a single tear, but her eyes had still gotten moist. "_Thank you."_

* * *

Rafaela had taken a seat beside Radek in his semi-private curtained room in the intensive care unit of the hospital. Almost two dozen people were still in here, some from physical trauma, but most were the rescued hostages from the Olim prison, many too shell shocked to even say a word. The medical staff was working on a three shift system just to keep everyone from burning out, and Reyna was having a tough time going from person to person and getting vitals.

Radek could speak now, but Rafaela had decided to just be here. Radek was a friend, and she felt horrible that she hadn't seen him in weeks now. He was clean shaven and washed now, obviously someone had gone to some trouble to make sure he was comfortable. "Hey…"

Radek nodded slightly under his BVM mask, and hoarsely whispered. "_Hello."_

Sniffling away her tears, Rafaela tried not to notice the odd indentation under his bed sheet where his stomach was. "Does it hurt?"

Shaking his head, Radek again replied in a rough voice. "_No… can't feel anything below… hip."_

Knowing already the damage that had been done to him. Rafaela couldn't help but start to sniffle involuntarily at the thought. Radek was crippled. "I… I'm sorry Radek…"

Turning slightly to her, Radek asked. "_Why?"_

Feeling guilty over much of what had happened over the past week, and even more in Radek's case, Rafaela took his hand and wrang it trying to show her sympathy and grief. "I should have been there with you more… maybe…"

Shaking his head with a little more strength, Radek smiled of all things. "No… this isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself… I ran away because I was scared."

Confused over what he was saying, Rafalea shook he head in curiosity. "Sorry?"

Radek seemed half mad as he simply chuckled. "I… I think I wanted to forget it all… just leave my pain behind and focus on something that couldn't hurt. I took it too far."

Still very confused, Rafaela said. "You're not making any sense Radek, what do you mean?"

Gulping, Radek looked at Rafaela and mused quietly. "Go to my computer in the ZPM room. My password is _Karluv Most… _everything is there…"

Furrowing her brow, Rafaela asked. "What's _Karluv Most?"_

Radek smiled drunkenly, he still had plenty of narcotics in him and wouldn't be coherent for awhile, these brief moments of lucidity were serving a purpose though; first Ronon and the Shade, now Rafaela and his projects. He didn't reply, but instead thought about the next part; when Colonel Carter would arrive, because she would invariably.

* * *

In the private consultation room, Reyna was glad that no one was within earshot. Presjan was a longtime friend, but she'd never seen him this agitated "Calm down Presjan… I'm just going to take your blood pressure."

The technician waved off Reyna's attempt to hook the blood pressure cuff onto his arm. "Fuck it! I'm fine… I… I'm fine…"

Reyna raised an eyebrow at her old friend. "Janny, you're pale and look like you haven't eaten anything in a week. I didn't say anything on _Daedalus_ because I had other things to take care of but since I have the chance now, I'm going to make sure you're okay."

Presjan turned his head away, he was angry in every tormented sense of the word. "You've got _no _idea what happened down there… what they did to us…"

."I know Janny, they killed Katana and they…" She sighed, part of therapy was using non-aggressive words. Something Carson had taught her. "…_hurt _you. I want to make sure there's not any permanent damage."

Finally acquiescing, Presjan held his arm out. "I'm fine, they… they didn't even hurt me."

Feeling deception, Reyna carefully prodded both physically and mentally. "Are you sure? It's okay, Janny, it's me. Rey."

Something was severely bothering the man, Reyna had known him all his life and the level of agitation he had was growing every day. Those days on _Daedalus_ had been hectic, and she hadn't had time to check on everyone on a personal level. Even Dusty had to be left to the company of Rafaela, Dan, and the life support machine she was hooked up to.

Presjan just remained quiet, yet obviously simmering as he let the blood pressure cuff begin to squeeze. "You're my doctor… you think if I trained really hard… Dan would teach me?"

It was a sudden and blunt question, Reyna wasn't about to tell Presjan he was crazy during a time like this, and shrugged as she began to read his vitals. "I dunno… maybe. You're in no shape to do any hard exercise right now, but I don't recommend you kill yourself training." Her particular brand of bedside manner went right by Presjan, he'd been used to it all his life. "What happened Janny… _Tell me."_

With the cuff now deflating, Presjan tore it off and got up to leave. "I'm fine Rey… I… I just …" He didn't finish, and instead stormed out of the room.

Reyna wanted to call him back, but with many more patients to check up on, she just couldn't afford the time. She checked her sigh, and marked down his blood pressure. Despite his weight and relative health, a blood pressure of 150/100 wasn't anywhere near what she'd expect. Something had happened that she wasn't privy to, but obviously it was being kept quiet.

* * *

The mess hall had been reorganized into meeting hall, The tables were reorganized into large conference room. On one side, the Traveler leaders, all Captains or former Captains and Council members. On the other side, the Settler leaders, a motley mix of men and women all raring to be heard.

In this setting, it was easy to tell them apart from only their clothing. The Travelers wore warm leathers, and tighter synthetically dyed clothing, mostly black and grey. They were used to the cold of space in such garb. The Settlers on the other hand wore a distinct mix of cottons and wools, with a few silken shirts for the women, some muted colors from natural dyes.

In the center though, near the front of the makeshift conference room near the podium, the majority of the remaining Earth Born expedition members were seated. They all wore the new standard black leather uniforms with brown trimming though only John and Sam's had a small silver lining along the center seam denoting command. This was going to be a full debriefing of what had happened, and several people had agreed to give their opinions.

Leading the Earthborn table, was Sam, John and Daniel, all seated very close together and being very silent. On opposite sides of the table, were Rafaela and Dan, neither even looking at each other. Rafaela still hadn't gone to see Radek's computer but she'd decided to get Sam to go as well, since obviously Radek was on to something if it was important enough to talk about on his infirmary bed.

Separating the two awkward teammates were Chuck, Laura and Carson, all of whom looked rather tired. To the side however, John kept looking towards one darker hidden section of the mess hall to the rear of the podium. After several checks, and now making sure everyone had arrived, John got up and moved over to confront the two figures hiding there.

John already knew who it was and kept his voice low. "Leese?"

Seeing the hidden area clearly now, John could see that Alicia and Aleron weren't even facing each other, Aleron turned from his view of the new ocean of the planet, and John was a little surprised to see him with a blue eyepatch of sorts. Alicia huffed softly and nodded. "We're ready…" She looked like she had more to say, but she kept her mouth shut.

Aleron on the other hand looked at John who couldn't hide the sympathy in his face. "I've told Alicia what I know, but I'll try and describe it to your people. I think I may need a bodyguard after though."

Snorting in disgust, Alicia turned away from them both and reoriented her cane. Clearly, she agreed. John simply sighed and motioned with his head. "Come on, once you're there we can start."

Aleron took a deep breath, and showed remarkable recovery from his grievous injury only five days earlier. John was shocked at how fast he healed, but that was a question for Carson once things had calmed down a bit. "I guess that's my cue." Without any hesitation, Aleron moved forward towards the makeshift conference room.

John was just about to turn and follow, when Alicia held him back by the arm. "Wait." Turning to her, John suddenly saw something akin to terror and rage in Alicia's face. "You owe me, _big time._ They're _monsters_ John… He told me _everything."_ Alicia's facial expression emphasized that she'd truly been surprised.

Turning to look at Aleron for a moment, then back to Alicia, John mused. "Somehow I doubt that."

Alicia's grip tightened, her left arm had gotten quite a bit stronger since her right had been in a sling. "_I'm serious John,_ I don't know what the hell happened to them but Aleron _wasn't even surprised_ when I told him about Larrin. The fuck kinda people are they?"

John didn't need this, not now. Already he was supporting Sam and that alone was weighing him down considerably. He'd learned a little more control; after his mindmeld with Rodney it was the only way to stay sane at times. He didn't _need_ Alicia to tug along as well. With a little more anger in his voice than he wanted, John made his point clear. "And _you _have no idea what's about to happen in there. You're right, the Olim are a _serious_ problem, but we need to make sure our problems _here_ are dealt with first, and I can't do that if you won't play along for now."

Alicia was about to spit acid back, but held her tongue. She'd been rebuked by John before, but not for a long time. She ground her teeth for a second and then huffed. _"Yes Sir."_

To her surprise, John turned around and pulled her away back into the shadows, She struggled as her leg hadn't healed yet, her cane useless for the moment. "Don't give me that _'yes sir'_ bullshit. We're _way_ past rank now. I've got no use for a second who doesn't trust me enough to be more than a yesman. Wait till you get all the facts, _then _bitch at me." He turned about face and took a few steps, and realized he'd just really hurt a good friend of his, his control was weakening, and stopping in his footsteps, John bowed his head and muttered softly. "…_I'm sorry. _You didn't deserve that."

Alicia refused to show anymore emotion. John's words had cut deep, but there was the glint of truth in his razors. "No… but you're right." She stayed silent a second, and then hissed. "This had better been worth it. Because I'm not going to sleep tonight because of what that bastard told me."

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** And here we have the chapter you've all been waiting for :)

* * *

Kevin lethargically moved up to the little podium they'd placed at the head of the proceedings, He wasn't going to be making any speeches though, not like he even enjoyed doing that at the best of times. He looked out to all the other Traveler Captains… except for Larrin who was still nowhere to be found. "Five days ago, _Daedalus_ attacked the Olim planet where Menalus took both our captured crew and ZPMs, or if you rather, Potentia." Keeping his voice calm and trying to be clear and precise helped, everything they'd taught him as a soldier was proving great assistance in keeping control of his emotions. "We caught the tail end of an evacuation, and engaged what we now know was an Ancient, or Ancestral Stargate, or Ancestral Ring seeding ship. We managed to get most of our crew back, as well as both our ZPMS or Potentia."

Very few people said anything, it was clear that they wanted to though, from the way they murmured and shifted in their seats. Daniel and Teyla had evidently done a great job in telling them to remain silent until it was time to speak.

Kevin continued. "Based on our team's reports, as well as testimony from _Sobek's_ crew, we know that an Olim Supply Train was used as bait to lure the _Sobek._ Once there, they claimed to want to trade with the _Sobek_. Captain Katana…" Kevin only paused for a second, only the Traveler Captains knew for a fact how Katana had died. Dan had sworn not to tell a soul of what he'd seen, and the other Travelers had joined him. "…tried to make peace with them in a trade, but it was a trap. As soon as the shields were down, the Olim used some kind of electrical stunning weapon to knock the ship offline. They boarded and captured the crew, then spent a few days learning how to operate it."

"We all know what they did with _Sobek_, but the rescued crew reported that they were taken through the Stargate of the planet they were on to the planet with the Seeder Ship. Several of them, the engineering staff, were taken away. We haven't been able to recover most of them. The rest were locked up and interrogated on Atlantis's military strength, our industrial capacity…basically our ability to wage war."

When the crew refused to give up any information… one of the armored Olim, one in special armor…" Now Kevin's voice faltered a bit, just the thought of this was infuriating him. "… grabbed Captain Katana… and used the armor's ability to make a spike of Trinium to… _nail _her to the wall as an example." Now his fists were clenched on the sides of the podium, his eyes moistened and small tears falling. The revelation had caused a bit of an uproar, but given the way Kevin's body seemed to grow from the way his body pumped up in anger, it quickly died down.

Kevin then finished his debriefing, thankfully quite short in comparison to the days of arguing with the Traveler Captains who'd finally come to see things his way. "From what we can tell, the Olim gained intelligence on our fleet capabilities, and it's got them scared. _Daedalus _alone wiped out their strongest defensive weapons without even breaking a sweat. With the Olim being quite susceptible to Traveler Technology, I don't think they pose any significant or even credible threat to us in space battle anymore, now that we're openly hostile."

The Settlers didn't know what to say, they didn't know enough about space travel and technology to have anything more than conjecture. Alrich, the supposed leader of the Settlers had learned to keep his mouth shut until it would be most effective. The older grey haired man still gave Kevin, and both the Earthborn and Traveler tables harsh looks.

Kevin let go of the podium, and headed back to his seat, not amongst the Earthborn, but at the head of the Traveler table.

John got back up to take control of the proceedings; it was going oddly diplomatic so far, but he knew that the screaming, the cursing, and the accusations would come later when all available information was dispersed. Aleron was next to explain what he thought of the Olim intentions. John figured he should have done a long time ago, but given the supposed non-threat of the Olim, it had just been forgotten.

That seemed to be par for the course nowadays, forgotten things just kept on coming back. John quickly introduced Aleron, and after calmly explaining that Aleron was the one Olim John trusted in the universe, abjections were relatively quieted. Sam noticed instantly the way even the Settlers acquiesced to John's leadership. It only spurned on her own feelings on the matter.

Aleron got up, now showing his injuries clearly to everyone in the room. The blue bandana he'd folded up and using as an eye patch around his head made him look surprisingly older than he did without one. "I'll get right to the point. My people want Atlantis because we don't stand a chance against the Shade on our own. But we're not as united as you might think. Olim society is split into five houses. My own, the Centaurus household is primarily exploration and science. We mimic our Alteran Ancestors to the highest degree. Because of this, you have little to fear from Centaurions.

The ones you do need to fear are the Telarus and Falacean houses. They are our scribes and priests accordingly. They pride themselves on their faith in 'Progenesis', our religion. But don't be fooled, Progenesis is more than mere faith. My people have been using Progenitor, or as you call it, Ancestral technology since I can remember, and our history books say. We worship the Alterra because they gave us our lives, and joined our lives by joining our society." Aleron turned down to Carson and nodded. "Doctor Beckett has done testing, and I can verify it myself. My people are descended from the "Ancestors" and a species much like yourselves. What I am today is the result of a mixture of Alteran Technology, fanaticism about genetic purity, and a holy war against the Shade.

Both the Travelers and Settlers now began to speak up, but Aleron ignored them all and continued talking until they were quiet. "Don't be fooled, only a few Olim know the full truth. I only know because the head of my household, Aulus Centaurus told me himself. The majority of our people remain ignorant, content to live the lives we've had for countless years.

They do not respect you, they don't even consider you an equal form of life. I was brought up to think of those who were not on my same genetic level as inferior. This, I don't believe. That's why I'm here. But whether you feel it unjust or not, No faithful Olim will ever see you more than simple unevolved primates."

Reaching up to touch his wounded eye, Aleron felt a trickle of rage pass through his veins. "I've bled for you all. This injury you see on my face was given to me by one of my oldest friends, Korpius Falacean, I've known him for more than a decade and as soon as he saw that I had chosen this side, we fought to kill. I broke his leg and he tore my eye out. _This_ is just the _physical_ pain I've endured for you. I am _not_ going to tell you why so don't even bother asking. What I will tell you is that unless things change severely, there can be no peace between Atlantis and the Olim, unless you deal specifically with Aulus Centaurus. The rest will consider you worthy of little else but…" he turned to Alicia, and hissed the final word. "_…fodder."_

* * *

Several more people had gone up and talked, and slowly the discussion had broken down. Several times the Settlers accused the Travelers and EarthBorn of favoritism, as well as racism and bigotry on the same level as the Olim. The Travelers accused the Settlers of being a hindrance, just something holding them back because of the lack of technological education. The EarthBorn on the other hand just remained silent, watching the proceedings and trying to maintain order.

The only clear compromise that was reached was that whoever had bombed tower D7 wouldn't be pursued or prosecuted. There was enough blame to go around without adding more. Sam couldn't take much more of this and finally decided to end it.

She got up, and slapped her hand several times on the podium to get everyone's attention. Finally, they all quieted to listen to her. "You all know me, but you don't know me well enough. And that's the problem. I'm willingly admitting that I haven't given you all the attention you deserve, but I stand by my decisions and actions."

Alrich, seeing his chance to stand out, cried out. "I never agreed to follow your leadership! I and my people are grateful for salvation from Pegasus, but we never gave you the right to negotiate with the Olim on our behalf, You've uprooted us _once more_ and I refuse to be transplanted to a dry and barren planet when the city can easily hold us tenfold!"

Sam had been expecting this, and her reply was deadpan. "I'm not asking you to leave."

In a seemingly contradictory state, Alrich continued. "Yet, how are we to survive here? For the past year, my people have been supplying Atlantis with food from our crops and gathering, in exchange for what? A few minor conveniences from these Travelers? We have as much a right to this city as they do!"

Delek, Larrin's second in command and one of the more outspoken Traveler Captains spat back. "Oh yeah? So what? You're gonna _blow up _ everything you don't understand?"

Alrich snapped back. "I _abhor _that violence. It's unnecessary and despite our agreement, if I find it was one of my own people they will be punished."

Nevas interjected. "And that's the problem! You don't even know what your own people are doing! We've _got _teachers who are willing to help you learn, but it's got to be organized."

Alrich nodded and looked to those around him. "Unlike _you, _most of us were from different groups. We've only united out of necessity and survival,"

Rutagen smirked with a devious grin. "Well guess what? That's how the Travelers _started _so you're gonna have to come up with a better excuse."

The woman beside Alrich spat derisively. "We have no _need_ for excuses! We do all the work to keep this place fed, and what do you do? Repair your ships, use technology to create your supplies, when was the last time you had to dig a trench to irrigate a field?"

Delek again snarked. "We've been _helping _you with that. But you people haven't learned anything. At what temperature does water boil?"

Seeing an attempt at goading, Alrich replied sarcastically. "Over a flame. And yet I hear no offers to teach us properly with consideration for our differences. The difference between you and I is that your forefathers ran from the Wraith in ships and kept the knowledge of the ancestors, while mine suffered on the ground in forced ignorance!"

Seeing that this was about to turn into a blood bath, Teyla raised her voice and screamed. "Enough! Both of you! Fighting amongst ourselves will only delay progress. We need a system in which _all_ our needs can be met with no favoritism one way or another."

Another Settler, this one an angry looking woman spat out. "_Especially_ for the EarthBorn! You sit there like you're Ancestors yourselves, You, Carter!" Sam raised her head looking at the woman screaming at her. "Under your leadership we've had nothing but ruin and despair. Our ancestral home is _gone_ because of what your people did! I won't agree to anything if _she_ remains in any position of power over my people,"

"And what the _hell_ do you think _you _could have done better?" Another female voice cut through the din of the crowd, but surprisingly it didn't come from Sam. Across the podium where the doors to the Mess Hall were, Larrin stood at the threshold, She looked tired and angry, but obviously very emotional. What was different was her appearance. She'd straightened her hair, and gone were the casual leathers she typically wore. In their place, a form fitting robe that reminded Sam of what Daniel said the Lanteans wore. The only difference was that this robe was layered with vivid black and dark purple fabrics that left quite a bit to the imagination.

Chuck couldn't help but think she looked like hell incarnate, especially as she screamed. "Colonel Carter has bled more and sacrificed more for us that you'll ever know because you're too _stupid_ and _inbred_ to see a good leader when they're right in front of you." As she stepped forward, the Traveler Captains sat up straighter, suddenly feeling venerated and prideful. So they were shocked when Larrin turned on them. "And _you_… You're all such smug bastards aren't you? Just sitting there watching this stupid ground kissing _bitch_ yell at these people. You make me sick; living on the _ground_ has softened you. You're all _just_ as pathetic!" Larrin was panting now like an enraged wolf, the hinting of bruising on her face and neck were hidden well with make up, but in her rant, the sweat beading down had begun to run it. She did however give Kevin a look that was different, almost as if telling him that he wasn't part of her rant.

Sam looked up at Larrin, who gave her a look back. Both instantly could tell in the other's eyes that things had changed forever. Sam couldn't help it and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "I've done the best I can. But you're right. I'm not the leader you _need."_ She looked around at everyone who seemed a little surprised to hear those words. Larrin gave Sam an incredulous look, but waited to hear Sam finish. "I _could_ keep going. I _could_ keep playing leader. But that's _not_ where I can serve you all the best." She turned to Alrich and the angry Settler Woman. "You're right, I _don't_ know you and you don't know me. That's because I'm a soldier and scientist, not a politician." Sam had made her decision, and she decided to just get it over with. "I'm not the leader you need, and I'm not the leader you'll have. I think we need to democratically elect someone whom we can all agree on…" she chuckled a bit, and then turned to Daniel. "… and I think there's only one person who fits."

Daniel raised his eyebrows in shock. Every eye in the house was on him and he was _not_ used to this level of attention "_Me?_"

Sam nodded. "Yes, Daniel, I can't think of anyone better." Motioning him to come up, Daniel found that with all the eyes looking at him, many probably questioning just where this idea had come from, he couldn't possibly not say at least something.

So when he got up to the podium, Sam now standing back and bowing her head as she breathed in deeply, Daniel took a good hard look around. First to his comrades, the EarthBorn and ex expedition members. Everyone of them he could ostensibly call a friend, apart from Dan who was more of an acquaintance, but they all gave him reassuring looks. They didn't have any objections.

Next he turned to look at the Settlers, many of them were smiling, he'd dealt with them all over the course of time and he knew they saw him as a sort of partner. He'd proven himself to them and even Alrich seemed okay with the choice. The Settlers wouldn't be the problem.

It was the Travelers who looked most dissatisfied, but then again, Daniel had only spent so much time with them, mostly just learning small aspects of their culture at a leisurely pace. It looked like several of them were about to object when Kevin broke in. "You've got my vote, Jackson." Staring into Kevin's eyes, Daniel realized what Kevin meant with that, The former helmsman had been there for the war with the Ori ,and knew Daniel could make a hard decision.

That's what scared Daniel, a decision like killing the Ori wasn't as hard as he'd thought it would be, and with six thousand lives being thrust onto his shoulders, Daniel could only say one thing. "No." Everyone was shocked by Daniel's answer, but then he continued. "No, I won't be a single leader. I've spent the last ten years of my _life_ fighting tyrants and dictators. No, it works for the military because that's what a military needs. But I think that's the problem you're all having. Atlantis _isn't_ a military operation." He turned to Sam, who to his relief was smiling softly. "Sam's a soldier. She'll never stop being a soldier, and I have and will continue to trust my life in her hands implicitly, even if we disagree. But that's not what Atlantis…" Daniel realized that he was getting into speech mode, and decided to run with it. Hell, if he was going to be a political leader, why not act the part? "… it's not what _any_ of us need as our stabilizing force. The only way I'd even consider accepting this position, is if I'm not alone. I've seen what control can do to a person and I'm not willing to accept that without limits." He turned to Alrich and te Settlers. "You've all banded together, but you've still got a dozen different cultures clashing, A decision made for _you_ won't satisfy the others." He then turned back to where Larrin was still quite shocked, but watched in curiosity. "Larrin, correct me if I'm wrong, but each Traveler ship has it's own customs and people correct? Almost like separate nations."

Larrin nodded softly. "Every one."

Sam turned to John, and saw that several of the other EarthBorn were seeing that Daniel was stirring the crowd. John got up, and to Sam's surprise, most of the other EarthBorn did as well. With only non-verbal communication, it was clear that they felt no need to be here anymore. Only Carson, Teyla and Laura remained at the table signaling that they were going to stay to support Daniel.

But Sam's job here was over, and from the looks of it, it was going to be a landslide victory for Daniel.

* * *

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	3. Chapter 3

Roland could hardly believe his eyes in the cold twilight, Alana was alright, and she rushed forward into Devik's arms sobbing in relief. Ronon came out behind her a few seconds later, dragging something behind him. "Ronon! We were about to go in to…" Seeing the mangled and cut up dead creature behind Ronon, Roland grimaced. "_Eugh, _ What's _that?"_

Ronon gave Roland a snarky face. _"Dinner._ Do you have any explosives?"

A little disgusted, but Roland pointed back towards the shuttle where the others had set up a small fire to cook some food. "On the ship, no way I'm eating that thing."

With a few fresh burn marks from the particle magnum and the distinct smell of hair cooking on the creature, Ronon shrugged. "You've never been hungry enough then. Blow the cave entrance and let's get outta here."

The Travelers and Settlers were shocked, but within moments, had begun to step into action. Ronon certainly knew what he was doing, and they felt the strong urge to just follow his lead.

* * *

"Colonel Carter…"

Sam stood by Radek's bed, John on the other side. Chuck and Rafaela had gone to see Dusty, who still hadn't woken up. Sam sat down, and quietly replied. "Call me Sam, Radek… "

Radek chuckled a little, to Sam's surprise, he said. "Sam… it's a lovely name."

John looked at Radek intently, he wasn't jealous, but he'd never known Radek to say something like that. "Uhh… what exactly did Carson give you?"

Radek kept his smile, contentedly resting on the bed. "It's not the medicine, Sheppard. I… I feel right again."

Sam reached out and took his hand. "What do you mean?"

Gulping, Radek took a few moments before speaking. "You… may have noticed I was a bit of a recluse the past few months." Both John and Sam nodded, and Radek could almost feel the sympathy and guilt from them both. "It's not your faults… I… I became _obsessed_."

Sam bit the inside of her lips. She'd seen it, the way he receded from social life, the constant work on Atlantis and gods knew what. She'd question why she never saw him around but was too busy with her own problems to try and find the answer.

Radek continued, John silently watching both Sam and Radek. "I think I wanted to lose my emotions. After meeting the Olim, I felt like we should make Atlantis truly ours… something _we_ built for ourselves. I lost track of time… I don't even know what day or week it is…"

Sam took a few deep breaths, then said softly. "It's the fifteenth of May, Radek." Another small laugh, and Sam couldn't believe that Radek could be in such a good mood. "Radek… I'm sorry."

The laughing stopped, and Radek turned his head to Sam, around them, small conversations much like this went on, the families and lives of those around them had been changed over the past week, Radek could feel so much different inside his head, these small conversations weren't enough to convey just what a feeling it was. "Why?"

John could feel Sam's guilt from across the bed, with everything that had been going on, it was difficult not to stand next to her and support her in anyway he could. But that would be later, when they had a moment of privacy.

Sam whispered as she squeezed Radek's hand in a plea for forgiveness. "I should have been around more… I… I got so caught up with…"

Radek quietly shushed her, and when Sam had stopped speaking, "No… _I'm_ the one to blame. _I'm_ the one who walked away from everyone because I was scared. You've kept everyone together, Sam. You have no blame from me."

Hearing Radek say those words gave Sam comfort, but she felt it was dishonest. Radek was one of the few people she could really say she trusted, and Sam had failed him. Only now, after almost two hundred people were either dead or wounded from her actions did she strive to set things right.

John spoke up finally. "Radek… what happened? You're all… _different."_

Radek looked at John, and oddly enough, he saw a distinct impression in his eyes. "I think I lost touch with reality… I… I was hearing a voice. I couldn't tell who it was, but it told me everything I wanted to hear. How I could improve Atlantis, how I could give back to the people I cared about…. but I forgot to spend time with them, and my obsession grew to madness…" he chuckled once and then dropped his bombshell. "At least that's what Rodney told me."

Both John and Sam flinched at the mention of their old friend, John looked to Sam who reciprocated, and then down to Radek. "Uhh Radek… Rodney's…"

Interrupting him, Radek finished the thought. "Ascended…" A little smug, Radek chuckled. "I'm tired now. We can speak later. There's…. Menalus did something to me and I'm having difficulty sorting it out in my head…" He turned to a still shocked Sam and said. "Get Rafaela and go to my computer, you'll know what to do."

Closing his eyes, Radek took a few deep breaths. He still couldn't feel his legs, and he knew his spine was broken. His mouth was terribly dry from an inability to eat or drink, his body being nourished with an IV. He ignored Sam's question, or John's shocked and utterly uncharacteristic silence. That would be for later. Right now he needed to rest and heal, to the best of his abilities.

* * *

"Uhh uh sorry! I'll just uh…"

Alicia moved out of the way as Rafaela scurried past, She'd come to see Dusty and wasn't too surprised to see Reyna and Dan both by the wounded woman. Rafaela's quick retreat wasn't too surprising, Alicia knew Rafaela wasn't hardened to these kinds of situations. Dan sat on a chair having just arrived, one hand rubbing his temple, the other cracking its own knuckles as he flexed it.

The hospital was still packed with hundreds of people coming in and out. Alicia wasn't surprised by all of them since the Travelers and Settlers who'd been wounded had their families around. Something she missed herself.

Sitting down on the opposite side from Dan, Alicia watched as Reyna switched the IV bag from a nearly empty stand, to a full clear fluid one. "What's that?"

Reyna replied quietly. "Glucose… keeps her body fed."

Dan didn't add anything just sitting there with an expressionless face, he was obviously tired. Reyna continued to work, and finally done, left the three EarthBorn soldiers alone.

Alicia looked down at Dusty, a machine helping her breath and monitoring her heartbeat and blood pressure. Her skin wasn't as pale as Reyna had said it was before, but it didn't look as healthy as she always did. Alicia couldn't help but feel responsible, Dusty was part of _her_ team and she hadn't been there for her. "What happened?" It was a calm simple question, after everything that had happened in the past week, emotion wasn't the best way to move ahead.

Dan cracked his jaw, and replied evenhandedly. "Olim played dead, got up once we'd passed him. Rey says no bones are busted but…" He sighed softly, the closest he'd come to an emotional outbreak it seemed. "She's on a thread. We beamed up to _Daedalus_ right away but Rey says it was close. Almost bled out on Ella."

Alicia now understood why Rafaela was in such a strange mood. She hadn't even said a word to her apart from excusing herself just a moment ago. "Is she okay?"

Dan pondered the question, he had a rather unique answer in mind, but kept it to himself. "No. I'm hoping she will be though." Turning back to Dusty, Dan seemed pensive. "Little _Prasnjav_ knew the risks. Ella's no soldier."

"She's never seen death so close before."

A little surprised to see Alicia being metaphysical, Dan simply shrugged. "I know, closest she got was that Doctor McKay dude."

Another moment of silence, someone groaned in the background behind the curtain giving them a little privacy, Alicia tried to keep calm. Dusty would be okay; she _had_ to. "You okay?" It was a rhetorical question, but one she felt obligated to ask.'

Dan simply smirked with a hint of rue. "Course… I'm alive. You?"

Alicia ground her teeth, she could feel the wound in her leg complaining and her arm, while having regained some movement, still burned along the cuts it had. Her cane hung from the side of Dusty's bed waiting to be used. "I'll be fine. Death is nothing new to me."

To her surprise, Dan began to ask questions. "Oh? Where you serve?"

Dan had never asked her that before, he'd always been fun and games unless it was crunch time, at which point, fun and games were still had, but with a rifle and not his other weapon. "Uhh… Did some home defense out of Andrews AFB, then went to sniper school. Ended up in Iraq, and from there to the SGC."

"You musta joined young. How old are you?"

Too anxious from the days events, Alicia answered despite not liking to give out her age. "Twenty nine… You?" She figured if she was going to get asked something so personal, she may as well get some info back.

Dan again smirked. "Thirty five."

Alicia raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Thirty five? Damn. I thought you were my age."

"Nope, just look it. Rank didn't do any help either." Dan sighed and leaned on the bed where Dusty lay. "So you fought insurgents and Ori?"

Feeling the need to find some kind of companionship, Alicia nodded. "Yeah… wasn't the first death I saw though."

Unsurprisingly, Dan held a hand up. "It's okay… we've all got issues."

Shaking her head, Alicia looked up at Dan. "No… you don't understand. The reason I'm in the air force is because someone died. I guess you could say my entire career is based on death."

Dan seemed to be interested in what she was saying. Maybe he was wanting something back for his own admission a week ago. "Who?"

The memory had always been clear, Alicia had tried to block it out once with alcohol like she knew Dan must have, but it didn't work. Alcohol only makes you forget the pain while you're drinking, not before. "…My dad."

Silence, Dusty's weak heartbeat on the ECG was the only sound inside the semi-private room. It was almost a full minute before Dan asked. "How?"

Alicia couldn't help but smile a little. Dan was so 'to the point.' "Heart attack. Happened right in front of me."

Dan was silent, he'd thought his own pain of losing his parents at a young age without ever really knowing them was bad, but Alicia had watched her father die. He found that he just didn't have any words that would help.

Alicia instead just continued, now turning to Dusty and sighing. "He had high blood pressure for years before, took pills for it. It's kinda complicated but he had to be careful how much potassium he took." Alicia still didn't show any of her emotive features, "That day… he took a multivitamin, and it killed him." Alicia left it at that.

Dan understood immediately, he was sharper than he looked at t times. "So you joined up to pay the bills?"

Alicia nodded and bowed her head. "It was either that, or strip. And I'm _not_ a whore." She said it with conviction, it had been a hard choice, but even as she sat here with her best friend Dusty on death's door, she still didn't regret it.

A few more moments passed, and Dan asked another tough question. "Why are you telling me?"

Alicia knew exactly why, and she stated it matter of factly. "I've known Dusty for five years. I know her family, I know how she even got her name." Alicia looked over to Dan and sighed. "If it were me in her shoes, I'd want someone to know what's important to me."

Dan finally understood, but he didn't say anything.

* * *

Carson sighed heavily as he stepped out of the quarantine room. Reyna was busy administrating all the injuries, but given Ronon's reaction when he'd arrived with a giant spider like creature in a burlap sack, he was willing to give the Satedan the benefit of the doubt.

Ronon still seemed uncomfortable around him, in fact Carson had noticed many people uncomfortable around him, apparently being a clone made one a type of pariah. No matter. He was Carson Beckett, and nothing would ever change that. "Ronon!"

The Satedan turned his head and grunted once. His little perch outside the quarantine room had been well chosen, few if any people bothered him here. "So what is that thing?"

Taking off his mask, Carson sighed as he went over the information he'd just seen on the Ancient Computer. "Frankly, I have no idea. It's got several different kinds of genetic material and it'll take awhile to sort it all out."

Ronon growled once more, and looked around. "Where is everyone? The hell is going on?"

Carson simply shook his head. "Probably still trying to work things out since the announcement."

"What announcement?"

Genuinely confused, Carson shrugged to Ronon. "Colonel Carter called a meeting to say she wasn't going to continue as the expedition's leader. How could you not have heard?"

Shocked, Ronon turned his head slightly towards the quarantine room.. "I was on the mainland… I just got back with that thing."

Now understanding Ronon's predicament, Carson explained. "It was just a few hours ago. Doctor Jackson is working with the Traveler and Settler leaders to try and make a better governing system. I was _in_ that meeting when you called me."

Ronon had sincerely been stunned. He looked at Carson for a few moments and then grunted. "Where is she? Where's Sheppard?"

Carson shrugged. "I don't know. I saw Carter and Rafaela together a little while ago heading to the transporter but I didn't see where exactly." Ronon had turned and begun to storm away, when Carson cried out. "Wait! Ronon!" Ronon stopped, and turned back.

As a doctor, Carson had never gotten used to delivering bad news. "There's more… It's…" Carson hesitated a second before finishing. "It's Lieutenant Mehra… she's… hurt."

Carson had only known Ronon for about a year before he'd been kidnapped by Michael, but he knew that Ronon wasn't one to show emotion. Even so, he could tell at the ten paces between them that Ronon had stopped all processing for a moment. It was then confirmed when Ronon simply uttered one word. "Where?"

* * *

"Oh my god…" Rafaela couldn't believe it, When Radek had told her she know what to do when she opened up his computer, she assumed it was going to be something simple, maybe some calibrations or even potential upgrades for _Daedalus_ and the Traveler fleet. "Sam! Come look!"

Instead, what Sam saw as she crouched next to Rafaela and looked was something she'd never expected. A list, each one linking to a different project. "What the…? Click that one, Hydroponics."

Rafaela did as she was told, in the dark recesses of the ZPM room where Radek had sequestered himself, the flashes from the large LCD screen as the project Radek was working on appeared gave it a strobe like feel.

On the screen, several towers of Atlantis became a cross-section, up until now, these towers had been mostly unused, a mishmash of laboratories that had little if anything interesting in them, warehouses, domiciles. What appeared now though was something completely different. Gardens, acres worth of hydroponic gardens growing just about any kind of plant or vegetable. What was even more astounding was that at the base of these towers, the non-load bearing walls had been taken out and a large field had been erected. It looked almost like pasture.

Sam couldn't believe it, "Go back to the main menu."

Rafaela was equally astounded, she knew only a little about agriculture, but given the amount of hydroponic equipment detailed, it could easily feed thousands once it was up and running. She clicked the back key and began to read off the items. "There's a lot here, Radek's been busy."

Sam pointed to one in specific. "Try that one, Foundry."

Clicking the menu item, the screen faded into another cross section, this time, one of the unused piers. Typically used for docking ships, it had been changed severely; there was an annotation at the bottom explaining the odd squat box like shape that dominated the small pier.

Sam quickly sped read though the annotations, and gasped as she got to the meat of it. "Rafaela… does anyone else know about this?"

The young woman shook her head. "I didn't even know until Radek told me to check it out. This is _crazy!_ He's redesigned the city from the ground up!"

Sam suddenly realized what Radek had meant by helping those he cared about. In front of both her and Rafaela, were plans to make Atlantis completely self-sufficient for their people and then some. Hydroponic farms, nanite assisted foundries, even a multileveled docking ring around one pier to make up for the used space on the other piers. There were at least a dozen other projects as well, reverse engineering the Olim Technologies they've scavenged, new weapons against the Shade, even what appeared to be plans for a ship.

Radek had inadvertently done exactly what Sam needed at this point, he'd come up with a plan for everyone to coexist on Atlantis without having to split them onto different planets.

* * *

Ronon stood at the foot of the bed overlooking Dusty. None of the medics or doctors milling about gave him any attention other than to avoid him. It had always been like this, only Carson had ever been able to get him to leave, and even then it was out of courtesy.

Dusty was still unconscious, she was hooked up to a dozen machines that took care of everything for her. From feeding her body in fluid form, to disposing of the waste her body made without her actually having to do anything. Ronon couldn't do anything, he just thought about what might have happened.

Sitting down, Ronon began to talk softly. "Hey.. _Duvali…_ It's been awhile." Of course, Dusty didn't reply. Ronon scootched his chair closer. "It's been busy. Killed a Shade, Killed a big spider thing." Dusty's chest slowly rose and fell as the machine helping her breath continued to operate. "New planet… last one got blown up…"

Off to the side, Reyna watched carefully as she did her rounds as Ronon seemingly talked to the comatose Dusty. Oddly enough, she didn't think it was strange. Travelers often talked to their wounded, a form of trying to coax the life back from near death.

Reyna was going to wait a bit before doing her own little talk with Dusty, She'd had so many people recently she could have said something to, but there just wasn't time.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

"Any idea what's gonna happen?"

Chuck shook his head to Laura's question. "Beats me. Last I saw, Jackson and the others were still arguing over how they were going to split power. Politics is a joke."

Sitting in the mess hall, one of the only places where it was almost assured to run into everyone else, Chuck wasn't too surprised that slowly people had started to filter back in. The cooks had retaken their positions with a little reassurance, and while there was still a tension in the air, everyone remained armed in one way or another. The fact that the EarthBorn seemed to come and join them wasn't all that surprising.

John, Sam and Carson all entered, it looked as if they'd been arguing, but overall the fact that they were about to eat together meant it hadn't been something serious. A myriad of Travelers and Settlers had begun to walk in again, many were still avoiding each other.

John, Sam and Carson all came to sit by Chuck and Laura, both of whom were dying to ask questions. Sam saw it right away and as she sat down, she sighed raising her hands in defeat. "I don't have any news, all I know is what I've seen so far." Sam rubbed her face for a moment as she sat down with John between her and Carson. "Someone please tell me we still have Jell-O. I'm going homicidal if I don't have some sugar in me soon."

Chuck cracked half a smirk, but he answered anyway. "I think there's some in the fridge. I gotta get a drink anyway, anyone want anything?"

A variety of answers, and Chuck just figured he'd bring back a cart so people could pick and choose. Laura was less interested in eating though and decided to get some more information. "So what's been happening? I caught some rack time after the Settlers started showing up so I'm pretty much lost here."

John replied succinctly. "Jackson's the president, _Daedalus_ is here, the other Traveler ships are on their way, and Ronon killed a big spider thing."

Carson turned to John and corrected him. "A big 'mutation of several species on the mainland which happens to _resemble_ a spider."

Sam simply ignored it all, it wasn't the biggest concern for her at the moment. Laura looked at John and Carson as if they were crazy. "Uhh… Knew about Jackson, knew about _Daedalus_. What's this about spiders?"

Carson gave John a look that said 'be quiet' and explained to Laura. "Ronon took a team of Travelers and Settlers to the mainland to explore. They found some ruins which were too dilapidated to examine properly, but one of the settlers who'd gone with him was taken by this creature. Ronon tracked it all day long and eventually rescued the woman. He brought the creature back with him so we could analyze it."

Laura blinked a few times. "Okay… what's this about genetic whatsit?"

"It's similar to a Wraith actually." Carson sighed, the fact that no one reacted was a little surprising but at the same time, he knew that the intrigue going on in the city outweighed andy medical discovery short of a fountain of youth. "From what I can tell, there _were_ primates and humanoid lifeforms on this planet, but something happened, given the radiation in the creature's genetic material, I'm guessing a nuclear event."

Sam groaned softly in dejection. "Great, so the ancients blew themselves away and got turned into Spiderman's nastier cousin." She gave both John and Chuck harsher looks, knowing they'd likely make some comic book related quip. She wasn't in the mood. "I guess once we actually do some studies on the planet and maybe that space station in orbit we'll know for a fact."

Carson nodded. "Whatever happened, the creature that Ronon brought back wasn't at all like anything I've seen before. But it'll never amount to anything like the Wraith, given it's brain structure; it's simply too small a brain to develop any form of non-instinctual sentience."

To Carson's surprise, Chuck clambered back with a cart full of different culinary works of mediocrity despite only having one working arm. "What's that, Doc? Instinctual sentience?"

Aleron and Alicia entered the mess hall, Aleron making a beeline for the Earthborn, not noticing the glances the other diners gave him, everyone still wary around the Olim. Alicia was close on his heels, focusing on him like a hawk on its prey.

One by one, the table picked out likely looking plates of saran wrapped food. Aleron and Alicia soon joined them. Sam lifted what looked like a spider leg steak from Outpost Zeta Twelve and shuddered as she replied for Carson. "Acts on instinct, doesn't think like we do even if it is smart in some ways." She looked over to John who had grabbed a somewhat more appetizing type of cooked bird. "Split?"

John turned to Sam, looked at the grilled spider meat, and relented. "Fine, just leave me the wings."

Laura gave a small smile as she saw her two commanding officers share their food between themselves. She honestly didn't care about the genetic tomfoolery, given that she hadn't seen this spider like creature, but was still curious. "So Ronon killed this thing? Where is he? He's been all over the place according to the Traveler police squads, but it's like he's a ghost or something."

John sighed, and winced slightly as Sam cracked the steak in two along the bone that was in the middle of it with her bare hands. He'd never cease to be amazed at how unwomanly she could sometimes be. "Uhh… yeah I've been wanting to talk to him too. I called him over the PA but I got nothing."

Chuck sighed, and then smirked as he added. "Well… I'll tell ya, I was pretty tempted to start a 'so say we all' after you said your piece Sam. Even more when Marks gave Daniel his support."

Sam stifled her laugh, but it was obvious it was a rueful one. Laura gave Chuck a little smack on the arm as Sam replied between half laughs, and half sobs. "_Oh god… Chuck. _So say we all?"

Having remained somewhat silent, Aleron mused aloud. "Sic Dicimus Omnes."

Alicia looked at him carefully and tried to understand. "Uhhh.. something we say… something?"

Carson realized as he looked over at Aleron, the young man was still weak from his injury, but his healing had been marvelous to behold. Carson had a lot of questions for him regarding how that happened. "It's 'So Say We All' in Latin Lass, pretty obvious if you ask me."

A little deflated, Alicia scoffed. "See what you've done Chuck? Now that crap is gonna spread like wildfire."

Chuck quickly raised his voice in indignation. "Hey! New BSG was _way_ better than most other sci-fi, besides, Wormhole Extreme was too much like my day job."

Sam simply turned to John with a look that said to keep his mouth shut. John pouted for a second, but seeing as Chuck was likely going to dig himself a hole, he remained blissfully silent knowing where he and Sam stood on the issue.

The conversation continued, the topic changing over and over with everyone putting their thoughts and hopes in what was going on behind now closed doors. The food vanished quickly and the small group separated, now unsure of where to go and what to do.

John and Sam decided that a walk was something that they needed to do, and they headed back for the same garden John had found her in the previous day. Neither of them said anything, they both knew that the past week's events would take awhile to pass. But as they neared the edge of the garden that overlooked the water, Sam quietly asked. "John, you know that Johnny Cash poster you have in your room?"

"Yeah?"

Arm in arm, Sam decided that her lateral approach to this question was going to be a hoot. "How'd you stick it to the wall? Did you glue it? Did you tape it?"

It took John a few moments of pondering before he could answer. "Uhh… Rodney made me some goo thing to stick it on without damaging it. Why?"

A second to remember her friend, then the admission. "I wanna make sure you have your favorite stuff too if we're getting a bigger place."

Sam watched John's reaction carefully, it was like watching a high speed camera view as the implication hit him, and his eyes opened just a little wider, his ears pulling back as his face went taut. "…We?"

Sam nodded and leaned in to kiss him softly. "I'm tired, John. I'm sick of having to live up to _other_ people's expectations. I'm not a politician and I'm not even going to try anymore. So yeah, yeah… yeah _'We.'_"

John didn't really know what to say, this wasn't exactly how he expected things to turn out, then again, what ever did? "What's wrong with mine… or _yours_ for that matter?"

Sam shrugged. "Too close to D6 and 7… don't wanna be reminded every morning."

"…You don't wanna wait for Jackson to work things out first?"

Sam shook her head. "No matter what, _this _I'm sure about."

John couldn't help it, through the chaos and crisis of the past few days, something good had come out. And yet, John was still worried about a few things. "About time, but we can work it out later… I think we should go find Larrin and make sure she's okay."

Bowing her head, Sam nodded as she hugged John. "Yeah… I think we need to make sure _everyone's_ okay. We've got the time now, so no excuses."

* * *

Teyla looked at Alrich as he led her to the 'Settler' side of the conference room, curious as to what he'd say. "Teyla, we've chosen you to represent our interests in the command staff."

Teyla raised her eyebrows in mild shock. She knew that she'd been nominated, but given Alrich's more aggressive tendencies, she'd expected _him_ to get this seat, not herself. "Really? Wow. I'm… _honored." _She looked at Alrich who seemed a bit disappointed. "Why me?"

Alrich cracked his jaw, and then looked over to Daniel who was collecting the votes from the Travelers on their own council head leader to join the Command Staff. "I want to be heard and understood, but they don't understand me." He turned back to Teyla. "You do, even better than Daniel. So I've talked with the other elders and leaders and we all agree. Despite your relationship with him, we believe that you won't sell us short to the Travelers or the EarthBorn. You're one of us."

Teyla didn't really know what to say. The few times she and Daniel had fought they'd always been able to come to an amicable agreement or middleground. Was that something people noticed? That their relationship was healthy enough to survive something as massive and literal as being on a political council that could decide the fate of thousands? The possibilities both flattered Teyla, and worried her.

The votes had been tallied, and Daniel was seemingly enjoying bringing some order to the mishmash of Traveler and Settler peoples. Teyla had never seen Daniel as a politician, instead as a cultural enthusiast, and in an odd event, had become the perfect person to unite them all.

Daniel moved up to address everyone. "Alright, we've tallied up the votes. Alrich? Who've you selected for the Settler Position?"

Alrich turned, the smaller conference room they'd moved to was much more sound dampened and Alrich felt much more closer to his opposition here. "Teyla."

Daniel raised both eyebrows, looked over at Teyla who gave him a meek smile. "Really?"

Nodding, Alrich turned to the other settler leaders, ten in all seated around the newly placed table. "We've agreed. Teyla is the best person to speak for us, and to understand the position of the Travelers." He gave Daniel a small wicked smile.

Daniel on the other hand understood right away that this was an attempt at coercion, but before he could speak, one of the Traveler Captains, Phelan slapped his hand on the table getting attention. "How is that fair? Daniel and Teyla are joined, that's a complete conflict of interest."

Daniel held his hands up in surrender. "Come on guys! If you're just going to accuse me and Teyla of things like that I'm just going to walk away, and you can deal with this yourselves."

The room silenced, as much as each side wanted control, they wanted order and stability at the same time. Democracy only worked when all sides wanted the greater good, and Daniel understood that. The hard part of this whole proceeding would come later when things had calmed down.

Seeing order, Daniel continued. "Thank you… now, I personally don't prefer one of you over the other. My relationship with Teyla is my personal life, not my professional conduct. I'm sure Teyla agrees with me…" Teyla nodded, though the look in her eyes said they'd be talking about it later. ",… thank you, and I'm only here to mediate between you two. My interests at heart lie with Atlantis, and that doesn't matter if the people living here are Travelers, Settlers, Earth Born, or even Olim." He was expecting an outcry, and the sudden protests didn't disappoint. "Wait! Wait, let me finish! Have any of you even _talked_ to Aleron?"

Supporting Daniel, Teyla added. "I've spent several weeks with Aleron, he is no threat to us. In fact, he is a wise young man who wishes nothing but peace for us, and for the war his people are waging on the Shade to end."

Daniel turned to Teyla and winced, she'd given out more information than he was comfortable at this point. Both Alrich and Nevas were quick to jump the issue and the arguments started. Daniel almost wished that Larrin had decided to stick with them instead of just walking away from the proceedings. Nevas was a little harder to control once angered.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Rafaela waited by the door gingerly, she was praying that he answered quickly because she _really_ didn't want anyone to see her here. Then again, nobody ever came out this way. That's why Dan had chosen it as his quarters. Now she understood why.

It was a little embarrassing to come here, but she really didn't see any other choice. Only that night on _Daedalus _had she gotten a decent night's sleep, and it sucked to admit that it was Dan's… _help _that had done it.

Dan finally came to the door, as was typical for him, he wasn't wearing a shirt. _Jesus he must do a lot of pushups. _"Hi."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "Hey. Uhh… whatchu doing here?"

Still quite nervous, Rafaela shrugged around hesitantly. "I uh… I went to see Dusty and uh…well Ronon was there so…I kinda wanted some company."

Scrutinizing her, Dan asked a simple question. "Why?"

Having to think quickly, Rafaela answered honestly. "Well… I guess I just figured since… well you _helped_ me Dan. I really appreciate that. I guess I'm just asking for a little more… _help."_

Dan looked at Rafaela carefully for a few moments, his face slowly hardened, though his eyes softened. Posture strong, Dan calmly said. "No, fuck off."

* * *

Larrin walked quietly through the corridors of _Daedalus_. The craft permanently had the smell of smoke and burning metal. It felt _good_ to be on a ship again, thick plates of Trinium and metal between her and the cold vacuum of space. Screw regular gravity, it always made her queasy.

They'd wanted her leadership, she was the only true leader they had at the moment. The rest of the council were a bunch of weak willed captains and wannabe dictators. The people on Atlantis had all looked at her strangely, almost as if they were afraid of her. She knew the rumors were flying around about what had happened ot her, but Larrin had said nothing. A lot of people were wondering why she'd rejected the invitation to the conference room discussion and some were saying she'd lost her footing in reality. Fuck em. Larrin was going to do things her way even if it meant she'd be going over everyone's head.

The only thing she could hope was that he was willing to do it too, and after hearing about Katana, and how she'd died, Larrin was almost sure that he'd accept.

They wanted her leadership? Fine, then they'd follow her orders even if they were unorthodox.

Entering the dimly lit conference room, she was quickly halted by a man's harsh voice. "_Leave me alone."_

It barely sounded like him. Kevin always spoke very clearly and now, now he sounded like a vagrant. Larrin looked at him from behind, the shadows obscuring him as he stared out into the void. Hoag's object was very unique in its stellar view, the ring the galaxy made gave an odd corona to the scape, the large yellow center of the galaxy starkly beautiful. "I need to talk with you."

Kevin turned to look at Larrin. "Get out." His face was dark and angered, his voice quavered.

Larrin knew Kevin was in the deepest bowels of his own emotional hell, and that's exactly what she wanted. It was risky, but it had to be done. "I need you to promise me something."

* * *

With that Dan closed the door and engaged the lock. Rafaela's jaw dropped at the shocking reception and then in a delayed reaction, hit the door with her fist. "Hey! Dan! What the hell!? Dan!"

He wouldn't reply, she kicked the door, now wanting to know what the hell he'd meant. Everything she'd been considering just fell down around her. She literally had no one she trusted to turn to now. Dusty was in a coma, Radek was barely conscious, Sam was busy with… with her own trusted person. Reyna was busy with a hundred patients. Alicia was busy keeping an eye on Aleron. Daniel was busy with the whole politicking system and Dan… Dan had just told her to fuck off.

No amount of banging on the door would open it, nor the screams and shouts that echoed down the corridor. Dan was evidently ignoring her. Rafaela considered just slicing the ancient crystal door control, but decided against it. She still didn't want to go anywhere alone, and going to her quarters just wasn't going to cut it. So Rafaela did the only thing she though she could do. She sat down outside his quarters, feeling very sorry for herself to be in such a situation.

* * *

Kevin scoffed and now got up to face her, the dark conference room only highlighted his Traveler leather clothing. Larrin could see the lines of exhaustion in his face, the lack of any sense of politeness. Even his clothes were messy and worn, as if he'd slept in them. "Are you _deaf _or something? Did those Olim Bastards do something to your ears that you can't understand simple language?! _Get. The. Fuck. Out!"_

Fighting the nearly uncontrollable urge to lash out at Kevin, a fight she knew at this moment would be pretty even given that she felt like she could rip the hull apart with her bare hands, Larrin simple continued, "I want you to take control of the fleet."

Seeing that she wasn't listening, Kevin could only roll his eyes. "The hell are you talking about?"

Larrin tried to keep her voice calm; she kept pushing the rage inside her down, Kevin wasn't the right target, and she was in no mood for sympathy. She'd run away to get time to herself, to think of the solution to her people's problems without having been influenced. She thought her solution to this problem was actually quite ingenious. "I've been my people's leader for five years, and we've been okay. But I've never fought a war and… and I'm lost." She took a deep breath, not losing eye contact for a moment for fear of losing his attention. "Those Olim bastards hurt us… they…" her voice cracked for just an instant. _"…_they hurt… _me… I want them to suffer._ I want to make sure those Olim who did this to us pay… but I don't know how... I've never fought a war… you have."

* * *

As tired as Rafaela was, she found herself drifting in and out of consciousness. No one was going to find her here, and if they did, Dan would hear the scuffle and come out, no matter what she'd done to offend him, he'd always defend her, she understood that. That was part of Dan's character and he'd never let her get hurt if he had a say in it.

That's what was so confusing; What had she done?

Rafaela suddenly jolted awake and shook off the exhaustion. Her back was aching, her butt was asleep. She moved up and began pacing. Quite a bit of time had passed, she wasn't sure exactly how much but Dan must have calmed down by now. Rafaela silently sat by the door again and knocked. "Dan? Dan? Can you hear me?" Nothing. "Dan, I'm sorry… Whatever it is, I'm sorry…" She sighed heavily, like it or not, Dan was the only person she could talk to right now without pulling them away from something important. "Is it too much? Do you have someone with you inside there? Please Dan… I don't care… I just want… I just want to talk."

She continued, slowly laying her heart out against a silent door. If Dan heard her, he was doing a good job ignoring her. Rafaela knew he had to have some kind of heart inside him, given all the crap that had happened recently, Rafaela figured that Dan might be more willing to help.

As she spoke, Rafaela picked up a noise from the hallway, it was the transporter. Someone was coming. She quickly put a hand on her particle magnum. Ready to draw if needed, but praying she didn't have to.

She hid behind one of the jutting out metal beams from the wall, and listened as the person came closer. They stepped heavily, and quickly, the distinct sound of boots. Rafaela peeked out from the corner and was shocked by…

* * *

Now Kevin understood. Larrin was infuriated, and from what he'd heard, something had happened to her. The bruising on her face attested to some type of abuse, but as angry as he was he could care less. "Fuck you. You think anyone's gonna follow me?"

Larrin kept her calm tone. "They already are. I saw how they looked to you. They didn't want Daniel but when you said _you_ did, They followed. My people aren't strong, Kevin; Our leaders are just followers in disguise. I want them to follow _you_."

Kevin couldn't say anything, as he thought about it, in many ways it made sense. He'd spent so much time amongst the Travelers that he'd quite literally become one of them. He dressed like them, he spoke like them, he even felt rage at what the Olim had done to their people… _his people. _

Larrin continued, seeing that she was getting through. She stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I'm not saying we kill them all. I know they aren't all responsible. But I want you to make them hurt. I want you to make them dead and I want you to make them feel exactly what they made me feel. I want you to _terrorize_ them."

Kevin turned away, he considered all the aspects he was feeling, so much of him wanted to just take _Daedalus_ and bring the Olim to their knees. It'd be simple too given their level of technology. Something John once said, that in space battles they'd easily win, but on the ground it was something different. Well… what if he never gave them a choice?

Katana's last words rang in his ears painfully though., _'Don't be Wraith' _It was a hard thing to swallow. Kevin felt the near uncontrollable desire to see vengeance, _justice._ He wanted to do horrible things to the man who'd killed Katana in such a slow and painful way. But was it _right?_ Would revenge honor her, or just bring about something else in him, something he'd spent the last seven years fighting in both the Milky Way and Pegasus?

Larrin became a little desperate, Kevin turning around meant he'd lost focus, she _needed_ him to say yes. "I'm giving up my position, I'm going back to _Navras._ I'll follow your lead Kevin, Please, for Katana please do this for…"

Before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly found herself slammed brutally against the wall and her throat in a vice grip. Kevin had spun around and gotten her in a choke hold against the wall, both arms holding her up a few inches above the floor showing inhuman strength. _"Don't you dare! Don't you DARE use her to manipulate me!"_

* * *

"Dan?!"

The Serbian Marine Captain did a double take as he stopped dead in his tracks. "Rafaela? The fuck you still doing here?"

Rafaela reacted instinctively, "What am _I?! _How did you…?! What…!?" She was so confused, that it took a few seconds for her brain to comprehend what must have happened. "Oh my god… I fell asleep… and you _walked right over me."_

Dan snorted. "Around you really." He then did so again, unlocking his quarters with his palm against the bioscanner and stepping inside. Rafaela followed him quickly, but he stopped her at the door. "Go to your quarters. I'm closing this door."

Now infuriated, Rafaela put her hand in the danger zone of the door keeping it from closing. She didn't think Dan would physically push her out of the way. "_No! _What's your problem!? What could I have _possibly_ done for you to treat me like this?!"

Dan didn't flinch, but his eyes again softened. His voice had conviction, but a hint of hesitation. "You wanted a quick fix, so I gave it to you. You think me fucking your brains out is going to help long term?"

Shaking now from the emotional release of anger, Rafaela screamed. "_I don't care about the sex! I thought you were my friend!"_

Narrowing his eyes, Dan waited a second before replying. "I am, but I'm not some emotional tampon you can just use whenever you've got a bleeding heart. What kind of friend is that?"

That was the last straw, Rafaela felt the veins on her neck bulge out as she built up the anger needed to screech at the top of her lungs. "_YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" _ Rafaela lashed out with a hard slap, drawing a pained grunt from Dan as he reeled back slightly, Rafaela's hand print etched across his face. He didn't back down though and simply stared at her.

Rafaela couldn't take it anymore and spit at him, then turned and stormed off crying and holding her hand that now hurt from the unbridled hit.

Dan stood there for a few moments, then bowed his head, wiped her spit off his face and chest, and entered his room locking the door again.

* * *

Larrin could barely breathe, and she used the last of her usable air to sputter. "_kill me… rape me… don't care… just… just help…my people… please…" _She barely squeaked out the last words, feeling the world begin to close in on her from the sides. Hypoxia was something she'd experienced before, not every airlock worked perfectly all the time.

Kevin held her pinned against the wall for a few more seconds, then let go as he stumbled back. Larrin slumped to the floor barely conscious, choking as she tried to take deep breaths, but finding her throat hurt terribly. She looked up at Kevin who had a facial expression of pure horror.

He hadn't meant it. He'd just reacted. Kevin had been burying his feelings of guilt and depression to try and set an example, and Larrin's words had pushed him over the edge. Too late did he realize what he'd almost done and now he was broken. She'd shattered the frail husk of his emotional barriers and now it was flooding out.

Larrin watched as Kevin began with sobs, then unrepressed racking of his body as he knelt to the floor holding his face. She'd always been curious about men crying, it just felt so strange to her. Larrin knew that Katana loved Kevin, she's already taken the first step towards a joining by giving her mother's heirloom to him. What Larrin didn't realize though was just how much he must have loved her.

Kevin fell to the ground unrepentantly, covering his face and sobbing into the metal plating of the hull beneath. He wasn't ashamed of his guilt anymore. He'd lost the one woman he'd ever truly loved and Kevin was going to express it one way or another.

Larrin silently massaged her throat, realizing that she'd literally been seconds away from release, but again, she'd been pulled back to keep on going. She didn't say anything though, and felt the weakness in her extremities slowly dissipate.

Finally, after almost a minute of heartfelt weeping, Kevin whispered between sobs. "I loved her… I've never loved anyone like that. I've been a soldier for my whole life, and she showed me more. I… I want to make them _suffer_. I want them to feel what _I'm_ feeling now. But Katana told me not to… she _begged_ me not to…" Kevin continued sobbing softly, his words cutting every few seconds with his cries. "I'll do it… I'll kill anyone who hurts us, but that's it. I won't kill innocents." He waited a second in thought. "Now get out, you're no innocent to me and I _will_ kill you."

Larrin took a deep breath in that finally took, and felt her arms and legs strong enough to do the job. She didn't say anything though and clawed up the wall to her feet. She had to hug the wall for enough support to leave, but she was happy nonetheless. Kevin Marks may have been a sobbing mess now, but Larrin knew… she knew that this had broken his wall of professionalism from the Earthers and made him a true Traveler. Kevin Marks would make good on his threat to kill anyone who threatened the Travelers… and Larrin's job was done.

* * *

**End of Episode 23.5... **_Dun dun dun!_**  
**

_Teaser for Next Episode_

**Chuck's Coles Notes on Atlantis 2.0!**

_The Following Information has been collected and collated by Chuck Campbell, Atlantis Director for Human Resources. See Attachment for various notes of importance  
_

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